Hotel prices skyrocketed after power outages. Here's what to know about price gouging.
Natalie B. Compton, The Washington Post
Feb. 17, 2021
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Two major winter storms have left millions without power, and claimed more than a dozen lives since Sunday as a result of cold, snow, ice and power outages.
Those in Texas, where at least 2.5 million residents were still without power on Wednesday morning, seeking refuge during the historic cold snap turned to hotels. But as lodging filled up quickly, some searching for rooms noticed rates exponentially higher than normal.
Dallas local news station WFAA reported that at one point, Hotel.com searches for rooms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area showed Super 8 nightly rates at $400 and Days Inn at $900. On Twitter, screenshots of the Ramada by Wyndham in South Austin nightly rates from $500 to $999 per night went viral.